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Sunday, December 18, 2011

12/17/11: LA Kings 2, Detroit Red Wings 8

What the fuck was that????

I don't know how I managed to sit through the whole game. Shit hit the fan 2 minutes into the game and I'm pretty sure every body knew this game was over for the LA Kings at that point. It seems like every season there's at least one game where the Kings look terrible and they let in a ton of goals. I can remember off the top of my head two games against the Buffalo Sabres in which the Kings got completely blown out. Usually I just toss the game aside as an anomaly and move onto the next game. But I cannot just ignore this game, especially since it happened during a real low period of this season. So be prepared for a full on rant and armchair GM post:

The Kings didn't just look a step behind the Red Wings, they looked like they were a full shift behind them. They looked like they were chasing the Wings all around the ice. They looked like a minor league team playing against the future Stanley Cup champions. It was embarrassing to watch. Jack Johnson looked atrocious. He was a -4 in the game and I don't know why Interim Coach John Stevens allowed him to play past the 1st period. And how the hell did Andrei Loktionov get benched in favor of Trent Hunter? Holy moly, the Kings were fucked before the puck even dropped.

I think it's pretty obvious at this point that the onus is on the players to turn things around. I don't know what any coach can do at this point to get this team back on track. If I were the coach, I would go fucking ballistic on these guys. (If I have kids, then I should probably never coach youth sports....ever.)

The only positive I can take from this game is that the line of Dustin Penner, Jarret Stoll, and Justin Williams played pretty well. I distinctly remember one play where it looked like the Red Wings were going to have an odd-man rush, but Dustin Penner back-checked and successfully foiled a scoring opportunity. Well done, Penner. (But, where the fuck was that during the 2010 Playoffs???)

As in past seasons, I hope this game against the Red Wings is just one of those freak games where nothing goes right. But I'm concerned it's a step towards the Western Conference basement. My expectations for this team were so high when the season started. Right now, I'm just hoping the Kings can clinch a playoff spot in April.